BOOKS REVIEWED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 54, Issue 17, 31 October 1933, Page 8

BOOKS REVIEWED

AN AUSTRALIAN WAR RECORD. "THE GALLANT COMPANY.'? There bayo been several good Australian books relating to the Great War, as seen from the point of view of the soldier, but none can be placed on a higher plane than the latest published by Angus and Robertson, Ltd. It is entitled "The Gallant Company," and is written by H. It. Williams, who rose from the ranks to a commission. In his foreword Lieutenant-General Sir Talbot Hobbs, who commanded the sth Australian Infantry Division, sums up the book in a way that will show its calibre. Sir Talbot says: "Mr Williams's book is the best soldier's story I have yet read in Australia. It is written from within, the battalion, of course, and yet is so general and so lifelike in fidelity to his scenes, that it would serve to illustrate any Australian infantryman's story, wherever he served in France, his memories of life behind the lines and in England as well as of experiences in. action. The incidents- are not exaggerated with regard'to either the horrors of war or the magnificent gallantry, determination, and endurance of the Australian soldier. I fear that many Australians, in their desire to forget the war, or their disgust, perhaps, for some of the so-called war books that have been published, do not yet fully know or appreciate the part Australian soldiers played in that terrible struggle for freedom and humanity. Mr Williams's story now gives them in a concise but most interesting and readable form, a great, deal of the war record of the A.1.F., and no true _Australian can read it without his blood tingling with intense pride in the achievements, the endurance, and the reputation of his countrymen."

A DETECTIVE STORY. E. Phillips Oppenheim has to his credit a long list of popular stories, and Hodder and Stoughtori, Ltd., have just issued another book, under the title of "The Ex-detective," in which are collected a number of short stories that have recently appeared in one of the English magazines. There are one or two in which tragedy is the keynote, some in which humour provides the solution of the problem, and some in which the detective plays but a minor part in restoring normality. Ono of the best stories concerns a valuable gem, which is the object of search by. twin Indian rulers. By the laws of the s game the owner of the gem. is protected from bloodshed, so that the intervention of a third party is necessary in order that the first of the rival parties to end his career while in possession of the gem may obtain the prize. How the ownership of the emerald and the succession to the throne were decided without any untoward happening must be read to be appreciated.

•STORY OF A LABRADOR DOCTOR'

Reading "The Story of a Labrador Doctor, as told by Himself," ' one realises why the book has run into 12 editions, while Sir Wilfred Grenfell's autobiography, "A Labrador Doctor," cf which it is an abridgement, is now in its 11th edition, almost one a year since its first publication in 1920. In his preface the doctor says: "Thirtytwo years spent in work for deepsea fishermen, 27 of which years have been passed in Labrador and Northern Newfoundland, have necessarily given me some experiences which may be helpful to others. I fed that this alone justifies the writing of this story." The book is certainly worth while reading. As a story of a work of mercy in perilous seas, where death by cold stood at a man's right hand and death, by drowning at his left, English literature has nothing to offer to compare with it. The establishment of the Grenfell medical mission to the Arctic and subArctic fishing fleets of the Canadian North Atlantic is as thrilling reading as ever imagination conceived. Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., are the publishers of this most readable book.

A HUTCHINSON NOVEL. Mr A. S. M. Hutchinson's new novel, "The Soft Spot," belongs to that series of character studies by which he captured, ten years ago, the hearts of readers. Stephen Wain meets us first as an attractive schoolboy, whose master gives him the dubious report: "Doing well but has a soft spot somewhere." What Wain actually did was: He abused the hospitality and generosity of a brother to whom he was indebted for unremitting kindness and help • the presumed death of his brother was a cause for exultation, despite his attempts to hide the fact from himself; he disregarded the known wishes of his brother after his death in order to benefit himself; he obtained by fraud an estate that belonged elsewhere ; he. repaid the adoration and fidelity of a good wife by leaving her to isolation. In fact, Stephen Wain was a very nasty person, a weakling whose occasional periods of strength were restricted solely to doing something for his own advantage. The plot is complicated, and scarcely allows compression, but it can be said that it traces the disintegration of Wain, first through easy living, then by roguery to sustain his pleasant state, and finally by a moral murder. Then comes, an- island idyll which awakens him to his villainy, regeneration through, the medium of a new religion, and extirpation by sacrifice. Mr Hutchinson is sincere, earnest, evangelic, and one recognises the virtues of his tale. Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd., are the publishers.